How to teach a Shiba Inu Bite Inhibition?

Hi, I have a new 11 week old shiba inu that we've had for 2 weeks. She is coming along nicely in most of her training but recently we have really developed a problem with biting! You see we got some bad training tips in the beginning and would just growl in a dominant fashion over her to prompt her into... show more Hi, I have a new 11 week old shiba inu that we've had for 2 weeks. She is coming along nicely in most of her training but recently we have really developed a problem with biting! You see we got some bad training tips in the beginning and would just growl in a dominant fashion over her to prompt her into submission. We were told that biting and mouthing was completely unacceptable because it was a dominance issue. It worked at first, however now that she's more comfortable with us it's taking more and more severe measures to get her to not bite and I don't like the idea of having my puppy be terrified of me and cringing when I approach. What I need are some tried and true methods to train bite inhibition that are effective but not harsh. Preferably from someone who has a Shiba Inu if possible as they can be a difficult and particularly willful breed. Her little puppy teeth hurt, and I while I don't want her afraid of me, I certainly don't want to be afraid to play with her! She recognizes me as a dominant in just about everything else, but if she senses fear in me of her that could change. I've worked too hard and love her too much for that! Help please!!

Answers

------------------------
The question was:
What did you do to get over the nipping and teething phase?

My answer was:
Shiba puppies are SO MOUTHY. More so even than most pups. Snickers drove me insane as a puppy. He played so rough with my daughter - practically chewing on her - that she almost started to hate him for awhile there. It was a bad scene. To make it worse, when we weren’t there for him to chew on, he chewed on the walls, the baby gates, his toy box, the furniture, etc…

Luckily, he didn’t bite ME much. When he did, I gently grabbed his muzzle or the scruff of his neck, gave him a little (very little) shake and told him no (very firmly). That didn’t work for my daughter though, because he didn’t respect her enough to listen to her correction. We had to come up with a way for an "equal" to stop him; he thought of her like a littermate, so our solution was for her to act like one! Whenever he bit her, she would YELP like a hurt puppy and then turn her back on him and ignore him for about 10 seconds. It worked like a charm. His puppy brain completely understood and he had totally stopped biting her in about a week.

Unfortunately, the teething was much harder to deal with. The only real solution - especially when we weren’t home - was to protect everything that we could and give him plenty of safe things to chew on. If he chewed up something important to us, that was our fault for leaving it where he could reach it. (The crate is your friend when you can’t be there to supervise.)

One good aspect about the chewing… it really calmed him down. I found LOTS of good things for him to chew on - bones, tendons, rawhide - and he would chew them like a baby uses a pacifier. Whenever he needed to calm down, he chewed! He still does actually. :)
------------------------

Another great tip that I didn't include in that post is redirection. Puppies explore everything with their mouths. When she is just exploring and being a puppy, give her a toy to bite/chew instead of your arm. You want her to bite and chew the right things while learning not to bite people.

You are right about the growling/submission/dominance advice being BAD advice. People who think training a dog (especially a PUPPY) is simply a matter of dominance and submission do not understand the concept. To be an actual leader, you need to be respected by your dog, not feared. Shiba Inus are especially smart and independent which makes it even more important that you form a bond of trust with your dog instead of trying to make them bend to your will out of fear.

Bite inhibition is crucial for a dog to live a long and happy life as a companion to humans. Snick's bite inhibition is amazing. It is so good, in fact, that recently when he was startled by another dog and turned to snap at them but my hand was in his way he STOPPED in my snarl/snap so he didn't take the chance of hitting my hand. I've accidentally bumped him when he's sleeping and had him react the same way; he'll wake up ready to take on whatever dog disturbed him and immediately stand down when he realizes it was me.

I suggest focusing on building your bond with your puppy. She is not too young to start basic obedience and leash training. Start teaching sit and shake. Reward good behavior with treats. Take exploratory walks outside together. Let your dog how you how wonderful the world is for a puppy! Hand feed her a few times a week at least. Spend time doing nothing with her - just take a nap (if she'll hold still that long). The more you bond with her, the more she will listen to you and want to please you. Above all, be gentle, consistent and fair in your corrections, so she is completely clear on what you want from her.

I got Snickers at about 9 weeks old also and, honestly, there were a few times I wasn't sure if we'd survive his puppyhood. He's 5 1/2 years old now though and he's the most wonderful canine companion I can imagine.

I had a shiba inu mix once when I was much younger, so I do not remember too much of the training as my parents did most of it. I only remember playing with her. However, I have had a lot of my own dogs since and a few with bite inhibition issues. I have tried different things. For some of my dogs, I made biting/mouthing completely unacceptable. For others I taught them how hard they were allowed to mouth. That back fired on one occasion. I had a springer spaniel that I taught to mouth and she was very aggressive. If you are okay with mouthing, allow your pup to mouth your hand, when it is too hard, yip like a little puppy and pull your hand away and turn your back to the pup for a few seconds. Then start to play again. Do this every time she nips too hard and she will eventually get the point. If she doesn't get the point or you do not want her mouthing at all, then when she puts her mouth on you at all, you need to give the little yelp, then turn away from her and stop play altogether. If you do this every time she puts her mouth on you, she will get that she isn't allowed to mouth you. Bitter apple spray works pretty well too. If she just isn't getting the training, spray some on your hands or feet or whatever part of you she is nibbling on. I also tried binaca mouth spray and my one puppy hated it and hated me for like 3 days after I used it on him that I felt so bad and vowed to never do it again, but some trainers recommend it. You just give them a spray in the mouth every time they mouth on you. Good luck with her!! Give her some rubbery toys that feel good on her teeth. Wetting and freezing those rope toys are great for teething dogs.

I have a Shiba Inu, and yes you are right they can be particularly hard to train. I would recommend first, not using submission tactics to get your dog to do what you want, especially with a Shiba, these dogs are naturally dominant and forcing them into submission over and over again will only lower their self confidence and make them unstable. I know many people that answer questions on this site only think they know about dog training from watching Dog Whisperer, but Caesars techniques are not appropriate for all dogs. I make sure your pup has plenty of toys, and when you are playing with her and she bites you, offer her the toy instead to chew on. If she even looks at the toy instead of your fingers, praise her. All puppies go through a teething period where they seem to want to chew forever, just be patient and be consistent with offering a toy instead of your skin and she will catch on. A towel tied in a knot, then soaked in water, and put in the freezer for a few hours makes a great teething toy that she can chew on and help to soothe her tender gums as well. Also, try googling clicker training, its a great training technique, especially for shibas, as it helps to hold their attention, which is hard to get with our little cat like pups. Good luck!

Ok. well, I have a puppy, and they bite when they teeth. Firstly, when she bites you, say NO. Not yelling or screaming, but firmly, then offer a chew toy. If she bites and plays with that instead, praise her and give her a treat. This will teach your pup that biting people is you is not appreciated, but she is praised for using her toys. Also, take time every day to play with her and cuddle her. Never yell at her or hit her. Just say no firmly and offer the toy. Remember, all dogs do this, and after time, this technique will pay off. But also note that once will not be enough, so if she does not obey after five no's, gently put her in a crate for 10 min time out, praise her if she stops. Just try, trust me.

There are a few real keys to dog training, whether you are trying to train your dog to come when called, sit, stop barking or any other behavior. Understanding their importance is critical to achieving rapid results that are long lasting and help develop the bond between you and your dog. Read more here https://tr.im/kwQpd

The first is simple; you must win your dogs mind. If you don’t achieve this first then you will be struggling the all the way. When I talk about winning your dogs mind what I really mean is that your dog looks to you for all the decisions. Before you do anything else watch one of the amazing video sites that show you the 5 Golden rules to establishing yourself as the pack leader. If you aren’t putting these in place then you are setting yourself up to fail. Just at the crucial point where you really want your dog to listen they will go and do their own thing. For sure your dog may play ball occasionally or even most of the time, you may even have a dog that is obedient 99% of the time, however if you want a dog who always listens to you and does as you ask then you need to win your dogs mind.

The second key to success is to motivate your dog. It is really important that you discover what it is that your dog enjoys both in terms of exercise and play but also in terms of a reward. If you can make the experience enjoyable then you will both achieve more and look forward to training.

Some dogs love to fetch, others love agility, and other dogs simply love obedience training, or swimming out into water and retrieve. At least to start with find out what your dogs love is and help them develop this, what I am saying is work with your dog. The other point to recognize is to make training enjoyable reward your dog.

There are a bunch of things you should know about dog training but we are going to discuss what I feel are some the most important. Keep in mind that these are only some of the things you should know.

1. Repetition is the number 1 principle of dog training. Dogs just like humans learn by doing things over and over in order to get better.

2. Dog Training can and should be fun for both you and your new pet.

3. Training sessions should always be short but sweet. I never work a dog more than 15 minutes in a session to keep from losing the dog's attention. You should train you dog at least once a day but never more than three formal sessions a day.

4. Your goal should be that each training session is just a little bit better than the last one. You need to always strive to make the training better, slowly. I mention this because quite often I see people who do daily training sessions but the dog never gets better and it is not the dogs fault.

5. Having patients is very important in dog training. Losing your temper does not work with a canine it simply makes things worse.

6. Exercise is very important in the training process to get rid of all the dogs nervous energy.

7. Taking your pet for walks is very important because it develops serotonin which gives your dog a feeling of well being.

8. Always be sure to give your dog a bunch of praise in your training. It is your dog's paycheck for doing a great job.

9. Never hit your dog. I have heard people say I never hit my dog instead I roll up a magazine and swat it. It's the same thing... hitting is hitting.

10. After each training session be sure to do something that your dog will enjoy. Take it for a walk, throw the ball or maybe even rub its belly. Just do something that makes the dog look forward to the next training session.

These are things that I teach my dog training students as well as my dog training clients. I hope these things will give you something to think about when training your dog. Spend some time training your dog daily and you will both reap the benefits.

Before You Spend MORE Money On Expensive Dog Trainers or Products,
Watch This Video First!

A dog first learns bite inhibition from their dam - you bite too hard, she knocks you down - and then from their littermates - you bite too hard, they stop playing. The easiest way to teach a dog to keep their mouth to themselves is through an extension of these lessons. The first thing to try is the "squeal and isolate" method. When a tooth touches your skin, even if she is mouthing and not "biting" or just grazed it going towards something else, you holler "OW! that HURT!" turn away, and ignore the puppy. Keep up the ignoring for a good 5 minutes before you will interact with her again. This will stop almost all intentional biting. If biting still happens when she is excited, try this: let her drag a 6' leash and then introduce the usual trigger for her biting (jump, run, play, whatever). The fun continues until she bites, then you pick up the loose end of the leash, step on the middle, stand straight up and say "Wrong. Down." Force her at once into a passive down and don't let her up until she is quiet and calm. Repeat. She will soon learn self-control to keep the fun from stopping all of the time. Finally, if the biting is non-aggressive, you can try grabbing on and making your hand stay in her mouth whenever she bites. Dogs hate that and it quickly makes a connection in their mind - if I bite that I might not be able to let go! It also teaches her to avoid putting your hand in her mouth, even if she nips and then lets go, you can shove your hand into her mouth and she will quickly learn to keep it OUT of her mouth at all costs. Good luck!

Dog training are excellent and very helpful to build you a stronger relationship with your dog. Read more https://tinyurl.im/Kavh8

After I started training my dog, he became very attached to me and loves to stay by side as long as he can. But just going to them won't help. You have to practice what they teach you outside of the class and you need to keep up with it at least every now and then after the class ends otherwise they'll just go back to previous habits. This course is a really good place to go for dog obedience classes. It get's your dog around other people and dogs to socialize while getting the training you need. As for electric collars, I would say to not get one. In my experience, they're only a negative effect on your dog. I mean of course you're going to need to correct your dog, but being positive and encouraging your dog works a lot faster and easier.

Every dog is different, so unless you have a german shepherd or a really smart dog, it might take a while to train her. You might get frustrated with her, but go easy. She's still a puppy and has a lot of energy. A backyard or somewhere to run will help her get rid of a lot of energy that might cause her to misbehave from boredom.